Cartier Santos: Large or Medium, Steel or Gold

The Santos is the oldest continuously produced wristwatch design in the world, and the current generation is the first that solved the one thing everyone complained about.

In 1904 Louis Cartier made a watch for his friend Alberto Santos-Dumont, a Brazilian aviator who had complained that consulting a pocket watch while flying an aeroplane was impractical. What Cartier produced was a flat, square-cased watch worn on a leather strap on the wrist.

It is reasonable to call it the first purpose-built wristwatch for men, and it has been in production, in recognisable form, ever since. No other design in watchmaking has that record.

Which creates an unusual situation for a buyer. You are not choosing between generations of a sports watch. You are choosing between interpretations of a design that has been refined continuously for a hundred and twenty years — and the differences between them are larger than they look.

Why the current generation is the one to buy

The 2018 redesign made two changes that sound like conveniences and are actually the reason to choose it over anything earlier.

QuickSwitch

A release mechanism under the case that lets you remove the bracelet or strap and fit another one in seconds, with no tools. Not a spring bar you poke at with a pin — a proper engineered latch.

This transforms the watch's usefulness in a way that is difficult to appreciate until you own one. A Santos on its steel bracelet is a different watch from a Santos on a leather strap, and being able to move between them in ten seconds means you genuinely will, rather than intending to and never doing it.

SmartLink

Bracelet links that can be added or removed by pressing a recessed button — again, no tools, no jeweller, no risk of a scratched link. Sizing your own bracelet is a five-minute exercise.

Every other manufacturer should have done this. Almost none have.

Being able to change the strap in ten seconds means you actually will. That is the whole difference between owning two watches and owning one.

Large or Medium

This is the real decision, and it is not the decision most buyers think they are making.

The Santos case is square. Square cases wear larger than round cases of the same nominal dimension, because a circle inscribed in a square uses less wrist. A 39.8mm Santos does not wear like a 39.8mm round watch — it wears closer to a 42mm one.

WSBB0026 is the Large in steel — the default recommendation for most buyers, and the version that best balances the design's classical roots against contemporary sizing. The steel is finished with the alternating brushed and polished surfaces that give the case its structure.

WGSA0030 is the Medium in 18k yellow gold with a silvered opaline dial. It is worth saying plainly: the Santos in yellow gold at the smaller size is the most historically faithful version of this watch currently made. It is also, on the right wrist, considerably more elegant than the Large. If you have been assuming the smaller size is the compromise, handle one before you decide.

The previous generation: Santos 100

W20073X8 is the Santos 100 Large, introduced in 2004 for the design's centenary and produced until the 2018 redesign. It is a genuinely different watch and worth understanding rather than dismissing as merely older.

The Santos 100 is one of the better-value propositions in this part of the market. It is not the current design and it does not pretend to be, but it is a properly made Cartier with a distinct character, and the discount relative to the current generation is larger than the difference in quality justifies.

The wider Cartier point

Cartier occupies a peculiar position: a house whose watches are frequently dismissed as jewellery by people who have never handled one, and quietly regarded as among the most interesting design work in the industry by people who have.

The company's shaped cases — square, tonneau, cushion — represent a body of design almost nobody else attempts seriously, and the current management's willingness to revisit the archive properly has made the last several years unusually good ones to buy.

Beyond the Santos, the Ballon Bleu 42mm is the most recognisable modern Cartier silhouette — the case that curves around the crown guard, with the sapphire cabochon set into it. And the Pasha Chronograph in rose gold represents a distinct and rather bolder strand of the same design tradition.

What to check before buying

1. The case finish transitions. The Santos alternates brushed and polished zones with sharp boundaries. Polishing blurs them, and on a flat square case it is unusually easy to see. Inspect at an angle under a single light. See overpolishing.
2. The bezel screws. The exposed screws are the design's signature. They should be evenly seated and consistently oriented; check for tool marks around the heads.
3. QuickSwitch operation. On current-generation pieces, actually operate it. Fit and remove the strap. The latch should be positive and firm.
4. SmartLink buttons. Press each one. They can seize with age and dirt, and a link that will not release is a service visit.
5. Bracelet stretch. Hold it horizontally. Cartier bracelets are expensive to replace and the integrated design means you cannot substitute anything else.
6. Gold weight and hallmarks on precious-metal examples. Confirm the hallmarks are crisp — soft hallmarks indicate polishing.
7. Crown cabochon. Check it is present, secure, and not chipped. It is a small component that is surprisingly annoying to replace.

Dimensions given are approximate and vary by execution. Confirm measurements and materials on the individual watch.